Do you ever sit at your desk and dream about what you’d do if an unlimited amount of money fell from the sky? Unfortunately, if you’re sitting at your desk daydreaming, waiting for that money to fall from the sky is the only hope you have of actually getting it.
While having a strong work ethic is valuable in many areas of life, that ethic alone usually isn’t enough to make you rich. Even if your idea of rich is financially comfortable enough to take a vacation once a year, the environment around you is unlikely to change to facilitate that dream. Work might be holding you back, and you could be missing out on some great opportunities to put your dreams in motion.
Why Working Won’t Make You Rich
There are people who get rich by working, but they’re an anomaly. Chances are, the job they have that made them rich is wildly different from the job they started out with. While you need to work to make money, there are several reasons why the money you make will never be enough to buy a vacation home.
- Every Company Can Only Have One CEO
The key players of the company you work for are likely rich by technical definition. The only problem is that there are a handful of those positions and tens of thousands of people who want them. The people in those positions aren’t quick to retire because the pay is too good. If you waited to be next in line for that rich position, you’d need to live for thousands of years.
- You’re Spending as Much as You’re Making
Even if you’re putting a thousand dollars in savings every week and you never need to touch it, that’s only going to carry you so far. With 3% interest, you’re putting away $53,560 a year. Interest will increase incrementally, but it will still be decades before you have a million dollars put away. Saving a thousand dollars a week and never touching your savings for decades is virtually impossible.
- Every Field Has a Salary Cap
Companies are structured, and they’ve already decided the highest they’ll go to retain anyone in any given position. They can’t afford to give someone who is a hundred promotions away from CEO a similar salary – the top dogs will always make the most. Eventually, you’ll reach your earning potential.
Gaining Wealth Independently
Alternative methods of gaining wealth need to be used in conjunction with a career. Ideally, you’ll be putting your savings into wealth gaining opportunities rather than a savings account with limited potential. Letting the money you already have become more money involves little to no effort, and you might even be able to retire off of the returns.
- Through Tangible Investments
Tangible investments, like land and property, typically increase in value. You can hold onto them and resell them later at a higher profit. Land, in particular, is a great investment – we can’t make more land, and if someone needs to build something, they’re going to need to buy land from you. Since demand affects price, profits can be lucrative.
- Through Intangible Investments
Invest some money. You can choose a company you like with an impressive stock, or you can try your hand at cryptocurrency trading. You only need a basic understanding of the risks and rewards of investments. You can do it by yourself from your own home, and the returns you see will be substantially larger than those from a high yield savings account.
- By Building Something From the Ground Up
If you want CEO money and a CEO role, your best bet is to build your own business. If you’re determined and successful, you can eventually become that CEO. You might even feel inspired enough by your journey to take a smaller salary, living with modest wealth and paying the people who helped you get there generously for all the work they’ve done.
Almost no one gets rich quick, through work or any other means. No matter how you commit yourself to obtain wealth, expect that things will take time, diligence, and commitment. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll realize your goals.
About Evie:
Evie Cooper is a blogger, a project manager, and a team leader, currently supporting UkAreaCode – an online knowledge library. Feel free to reach out to her on @CooperEviee.
